Jail for 50-year career criminal (From Daily Echo)
When news happens, text SDE and your photos or videos to 80360. Or contact us by email and phone.
Jail for 50-year career criminal Simon Berkowitz
10:44am Friday 8th June 2012 in New Forest
Simon Berkowitz
ONE of Britain’s most prolific burglars, whose previous crimes led to the exposure of Paddy Ashdown’s affair with his secretary, has now been jailed for his latest break-ins in Hampshire.
Simon Berkowitz, 65, stood in the Winchester Crown Court dock to admit five burglaries, one count of going equipped to burgle and two counts of fraud in the New Forest area that netted more than £30,000.
He is thought to be one of Britain’s most prolific thieves with more than 250 convictions for burglary and theft spanning more than 50 years.
But it was the Paddy Ashdown court case in August 1992 for which Berkowitz was most infamous.
He was found not guilty at the Old Bailey of burgling the City of London offices of solicitors Bates, Wells and Braithwaite, where an aide memoire detailing Liberal leader Mr Ashdown’s affair with former secretary Patricia Howard was stolen.
Berkowitz, at the time a Conservative Party member, tried to sell the document to the News Of The World for £30,000 and during his trial said a Labour Party supporter gave it to him. He was convicted of handling stolen goods and jailed for 30 months.
The scandal earned Mr Ashdown the nickname Paddy Pantsdown.
It was “eagle-eyed” policeman PC Dean Miller who brought Berkowitz’s latest crime spree to an end when he saw him in Milford on Sea carrying a holdall. He had been sent on plain clothed patrol in December last year after the area’s burglary rate soared.
In the holdall they found two crowbars, a blow torch and a magnifying glass to examine the jewellery and silverware Berkowitz liked to steal. Property from three of the burglaries was found at his flat in Hove.
In mitigation, the court heard Berkowitz got “a buzz” from burglaries and was obsessed with silverware and jewellery.
Jailing him for f ive-and-a-half years, Judge Jane Miller QC said: “The public needs the maximum amount of protection from you that I can possibly justify.”
The tip of the iceberg
POLICE said what Berkowitz has been convicted of is only “the tip of the iceberg” and it is believed he has committed thousands of burglaries over the years.
He also has scores of other convictions to his name for handling stolen goods, going equipped to burgle and fraud since he first appeared at Worthing Juvenile Court aged 14 in 1961 for larceny.
He was then given a twoyear probation order and ordered to pay 38p costs.
Since then, his criminal record has grown to ten pages with sentences totalling over 40 years from across the country.
The court heard how he taunted probation officers a Christmas card depicting Santa Claus as a convict and saying ‘Crime Does pay’.
Outside court, Detective Constable Robert Cox who led the investigation said Berkowitz was a cold and calculated burglar who had no conscience whatsoever.
He said: “In these latest evil offences the victims were mostly elderly and were left in fear of living in their own homes after they had been ransacked by Berkowitz. I strongly suspect that Berkowitz is responsible for many more burglaries and I urge anyone who has information to contact me.”
Comments(13)
Footballfootballandmorefootball
says...
11:13am Fri 8 Jun 12
Ozmosis
says...
11:24am Fri 8 Jun 12
Ozmosis
says...
11:25am Fri 8 Jun 12
On the inside
says...
11:38am Fri 8 Jun 12
Shoong
says...
12:18pm Fri 8 Jun 12
Ant Smoking MP wrote:Wish you wouldn't.
"Berkowitz, at the time a Conservative Party member, tried to sell the document to the News Of The World for £30,000 and during his trial said a Labour Party supporter gave it to him. He was convicted of handling stolen goods and jailed for 30 months."
.
Say no more!!
Ant Smoking MP
says...
12:30pm Fri 8 Jun 12
Shoong wrote:....and one of them Bit!!
Ant Smoking MP wrote:Wish you wouldn't.
"Berkowitz, at the time a Conservative Party member, tried to sell the document to the News Of The World for £30,000 and during his trial said a Labour Party supporter gave it to him. He was convicted of handling stolen goods and jailed for 30 months."
.
Say no more!!
Fatty x Ford Worker
says...
6:04pm Fri 8 Jun 12
opera phantom
says...
7:54pm Fri 8 Jun 12
until he dies in prison.
Piece of Scum
OSPREYSAINT
says...
9:26pm Fri 8 Jun 12
Fatty x Ford Worker wrote:Send him for the trip of a lifetime to Saudi Arabia.
Tea leaf cut his hands off!
southy
says...
10:05am Sat 9 Jun 12
Ant Smoking MP wrote:Thinking the same about the Tory-Con Party memebership bit
"Berkowitz, at the time a Conservative Party member, tried to sell the document to the News Of The World for £30,000 and during his trial said a Labour Party supporter gave it to him. He was convicted of handling stolen goods and jailed for 30 months."
.
Say no more!!
southy
says...
10:11am Sat 9 Jun 12
On the inside wrote:No mistake the Tory-Con Party are a bunch of theifs, remember what they stole of the state in the 80's, then had the cheek to sell it back to us in the great shares swindle.
A life long criminal with no conscience whatsoever is attracted to the Conservative Party. Some mistake surely,
And all that wheeling dealing stuff that was up to, and the Expenses Sheet that was interduce in the 80's.
OSPREYSAINT
says...
10:12pm Sat 9 Jun 12
southy wrote:i before e Southy, thief or thieves, and "introduced" it should be, The Spelling and Grammar Police make no charge for this service.
On the inside wrote:No mistake the Tory-Con Party are a bunch of theifs, remember what they stole of the state in the 80's, then had the cheek to sell it back to us in the great shares swindle.
A life long criminal with no conscience whatsoever is attracted to the Conservative Party. Some mistake surely,
And all that wheeling dealing stuff that was up to, and the Expenses Sheet that was interduce in the 80's.
Ant Smoking MP says...
10:57am Fri 8 Jun 12
.
Say no more!!